PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – A crowd of perhaps 100 individuals filled the lower bowels of First Data Field as Noah Syndergaard squared off against a Cardinals’ minor league team Saturday afternoon.

The scoreboard was turned off. The hitters were not introduced. The only teammate on the field with the Mets’ opening day starter was fellow battery mate, Travis d’Arnaud.

The setting was likely a stark contrast from the one Syndergaard will experience come opening day, but this low-key outing on Saturday helped him along his path toward that start.

“Felt really good,” Syndergaard said after tossing 70 pitches. “I felt like I’m back where I need to be. I made some mechanical adjustments between my side work. Things are really starting to click for me right now, and I’m excited about them.”

Syndergaard believes his progression toward opening day is right where it needs to be after Saturday’s start, and he is pleased with his mechanics after experiencing some issues in a recent outing. The righty allowed one unearned run on two hits in five innings, and struck out eight batters while issuing two walks.

“We’re all excited for the season to start, but right now it’s still taking things day by day and not getting too ahead of myself into the future,” Syndergaard said after his fourth outing of camp. “When opening day arrives, it will be here, and I’ll be ready to answer the call.”

Syndergaard could have started Saturday’s Grapefruit League game in Jupiter, Fla., but the team let him stay back while Robert Gsellman – whom he jokingly called “my son” – started the road game.

The ace has been battling bronchitis and mentioned after a recent start that he needed to have a softer landing, and said after Saturday’s outing there has been improvement in both areas.

Syndergaard believes he’s finally moving past the illness, and he felt on Saturday that he had a better landing within his delivery, which allows him to stay in line with home plate and not fall off to the sides.

He said the key is to make sure he has a “solid base” with his right leg.

“Sometimes certain habits are really hard to break, but if you really focus on the quality of your repetitions, not so much the quantity, then you will start to gain that muscle memory,” Syndergaard said of making adjustments. “It will start to click for you.”

Syndergaard going up against minor leaguers has proved to be as unfair a matchup as one would imagine, with the prospects whiffing when he tosses his assortment of off-speed pitches.

He said his change-up – which he hopes to use more this season – felt “really good,” adding that the mechanical adjustment allowed his curveball to be as sharp as it’s been in a quite some time. D’Arnaud said Syndergaard threw from 10 to 15 change-ups, and they dropped about a foot.

The outing marked the third straight time d’Arnaud has caught Syndergaard this camp; Rene Rivera served as Syndergaard’s personal catcher last year. Rivera is currently playing for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and the team has made it to the semifinals.

“His command has gotten a lot better each and every time,” d’Arnaud said. “He was putting his fastball where he wanted it. Throwing his curveball wherever he wanted it. Using his change-up off his fastball whenever he wanted it, using his slider to get ground balls whenever he wanted to. It was fun.”

He added: “As spring training is coming to an end, (it’s nice) to see his progression, where it is now.”

Syndergaard is scheduled for two more starts before facing Atlanta in the opener, and he will continue to build up his pitch count and try to iron out any issues that may arise.

“Just fine-tuning everything,” Syndergaard said. “Getting more used to holding runners on, varying my looks to home plate. Throwing certain pitches you may not throw in certain counts to get that pitchability back. It’s all about becoming a well-rounded pitcher from here on out.”